


Black Coffee

by sleepynayeon



Series: cafe dreams [1]
Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: F/F, and then theres tzuyu another cocky bartender but somehow minas best friend, bc she always dresses like it, chaeyoung is a broke art college student, coffee shop AU, features the silent trio, michaeng, mina is the bartender, slight mitzu i guess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-03
Updated: 2017-08-03
Packaged: 2018-12-10 19:09:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11698050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleepynayeon/pseuds/sleepynayeon
Summary: Who would've thought that something simple yet bitter as black coffee could've made Mina's day much more interesting?





	Black Coffee

**Author's Note:**

> also posted on AFF under the same title

“Um, I’ll have a...black coffee.”

 

Myoui Mina stares at the young woman in front of her. The young woman, who can’t be a day over nineteen, ordering a black coffee. Something only adults over twenty-five order. Young women like this one never order such...sophisticated things. For them, it’s all about frappucinos, macchiatos, lattes, and those terrible soy beverages with wheat and skim milk and god knows what other things. Not like Mina’s one of the adults; she’s only twenty-one years old, but being a barista in a café, you learn a lot of things. This being one: young people can’t stand black coffee.

 

Yet this young one apparently can.

 

Mina puts the customer’s order into the system and looks up at her, smiling pleasantly. (At least, she hopes so.) “That’ll be five dollars, please.” The young woman, flustered, pulls out her wallet from her jeans pocket and fishes out a five dollar bill, pressing it into Mina’s already outstretched hand. Without another word, except for a hurried “Thank you,” she shuffles over to the counter where customers pick up their drink. Mina isn’t paying attention, though; she’s shoving the five dollars into the machine and silently scolding herself for acting so greedy. Putting your hand out for money, well, that seems like you’re a beggar, and Mina’s far from that. She shouldn’t act so desperate.

 

But there’s something about that person, something that allowed Mina to almost relax. To be a little more...free. Loosened up.

 

With no other customers to tend to, Mina leans forward, resting her elbow on the counter, and watches her girl. Based on the info she had gotten from the system, this person’s name is Son Chaeyoung. Apparently, Chaeyoung has visited several times and is considered to be a regular. (Though Mina’s never seen her before. But Mina just started working, anyways, so who is she to question this?) Chaeyoung is – like Mina predicted before – nineteen years old, and normally orders a tall caramel frappucino. Loaded with sugar. As expected of a youngster.

 

Not like Mina was old, or anything.

 

But now, Chaeyoung ordered a black coffee. Mina examines Chaeyoung’s outfit. The younger woman is wearing a red flannel on top of a black shirt that has what seems to be paint stains on it. It’s paired with denim shorts (also sporting paint stains, albeit small ones) which reveal her toned legs. So Chaeyoung isn’t just an artist, but athletic. The toned legs don’t just give it away, her Nike shoes – with drawings on them that look like she had done them herself – practically scream that she runs laps every day. (In Mina’s opinion, Nike shoes don’t really go along with flannels and denim shorts, but Chaeyoung somehow makes it work.)

 

So, an athletic artist. Part-time athletic, most time artist? Explains it.

 

Yes, to Mina, it makes lots of sense. All the sense. Every single sense. Young artists walk in and out of the café every day, and for some odd reason, whenever it’s Mina’s shift, there seems to be an abundance of them. Young men and women, looking just fresh out of college – or perhaps even still in college, maybe even high school – enter the café, bags under their eyes yet a fresh, sparkling look _in_ their eyes, and their hands grey from pencil led or their clothing dirty thanks to several stains from art materials, whether it be paint or oil pastel. And all of them order black coffee.

 

Every single time, it’s black coffee. To make them look mature, perhaps? Or just to simply help them stay awake?

 

Mina doesn’t know, but for Chaeyoung, her bet is that this girl wants to look more mature than she seems. She does look like a twelve year old, after all.

 

Mina feels a tap on her shoulder and whirls around, face to face with fellow barista Chou Tzuyu, who probably caught Mina staring at Chaeyoung. The look on her face says it all.

 

“I saw the order,” Tzuyu says, reaching back to tie her long, black hair up. “I was going to take care of it, but...do you want to, instead? I can stay here at the counter until you’re done.”

 

Mina grins. She’s never loved Tzuyu more than she does now. “You’re an angel.”

 

Tzuyu shrugs. “That’s what friends are for, right?” She immediately shakes her head and corrects herself, a mischievious smile spreading across her face. “No, no. I mean, that’s what _best_ friends are for, right?”

 

“Right,” Mina nods, her grin splitting her face at this point. It certainly feels like it. She skips over to the counter where Chaeyoung is waiting and, still beaming, says, “Sorry for the delay. I’ll whip up your drink and have it done shortly.”

 

Chaeyoung looks up from the sketchbook in her hand, a pleasantly surprised look on her face. It makes her look incredibly young. “Ah, what delay? Take all the time you need!”

 

Mina can’t help but brighten at this. She turns from Chaeyoung after giving her another face-splitting smile (hopefully it expresses just how happy Mina is and doesn’t look scary, like that one boy who complained to his mother how frightening Mina looked when she smiled at him) and starts to put together Chaeyoung’s black coffee. She reaches for a pitcher of milk and, with her other hand, a container of sugar, but stops. If Chaeyoung wants to act mature, _be_ mature, then who is Mina to stop her? Not just that, but Mina doesn’t want to get fired so early for taking pity on someone who looks like they can’t handle what they ordered. (No matter what the reason, Mina _will_ get fired. Park Jihyo’s that strict.)

 

In less than two minutes – a new record! – Mina finishes brewing Chaeyoung’s coffee, putting the lid on the cup of steaming coffee and walking it over to the counter, where Chaeyoung is busy playing on her phone. On her way, Mina grabs a dark chocolate biscotti, one of the café’s specialties, and decides to pair it with the coffee. Just to sweeten things up. Mina doesn’t want to watch her girl dump the coffee into the trash after she discovers just how bitter it is; that’d be a waste of her time and Mina’s. So instead, Chaeyoung can eat this, to soften the blow when the coffee hits her taste buds. And she’s not going to get fired – it’s on the house, which is acceptable every now and then.

 

Mina shyly sets the coffee and biscotti (on a fancy plate! The other customers wish!) in front of Chaeyoung. “Here’s your black coffee...and a biscotti. It’s free.” Her heart lifts as she sees Chaeyoung smile slowly, her smile only getting more wider and genuine with each second that passes. She stuffs her phone into her back pocket, grabs the cup of coffee and the plate that holds the biscotti, and grins at Mina, a grin that melts Mina to the core. “Thank you, much appreciated,” she says in her husky voice, and turns, heading to a table which is situated almost right in front of Mina.

 

Coincidence? Mina thinks not.

 

Mina heads back to where she was before, behind the machine. Tzuyu is sorting through the money, covering her mouth as a yawn makes its way out. The café is peaceful, with only Chaeyoung and three or four other people sitting at the tables. Well, it _is_ quite early in the morning, and Mina’s mid-afternoon shift generates more people, as she’s discovered. “Need any help with that?” Mina asks, gently lifting Tzuyu’s hand away from the bundles of cash, where it had been idly sifting through dollar bills.

 

Tzuyu looks at Mina gratefully. “You’ve saved me. I think I’m gonna make myself a coffee.” Mina laughs, and makes a shooing gesture – affectionately, of course. “Make sure Jihyo doesn’t catch you.”

 

Tzuyu rolls her eyes, already at the brewing stations. “Like she will. And if she does, you know she’s gonna ignore it.” With nothing further to say – the two know Jihyo has a preference towards Tzuyu, of course she’s not going to act if Tzuyu breaks a rule – she starts to create her beverage, whatever it is. Mina’s not interested. She’s interested in something else.

 

Or rather, some _one_ else.

 

Her eyes find Chaeyoung, who’s drawing in her sketchbook again. Her cheeks are tinted red, and the glasses she had put on just moments ago slip down her nose repeatedly, no matter how far up she pushes them. With a hiss, she snatches them off and puts – more like slams – them on the table. Mina can’t help but giggle; the action is so childish yet cute.

 

Her customer hasn’t taken a sip of her coffee, though.

 

Mina leans over to the side, glimpsing an empty plate next to the cup of coffee. The plate that used to contain a biscotti. Mina winces; there’s no way Chaeyoung will be able to dodge the bitter bullet that’ll be fired from the coffee’s gun. _Don’t say I didn’t try to save you._

 

Chaeyoung continues to sketch, not even glancing at her coffee. By now, one would expect Mina to get tired of watching the young woman, but that’s incorrect. Mina can’t get enough of the adorable yet mature girl. And besides, she has nothing to do. Why not watch Chaeyoung? It’s time well spent.

 

Mina is surprised when Chaeyoung looks up, meeting Mina’s eyes. The younger blushes deeply and looks back at her sketchbook, only to steal another glance of Mina. Perplexing, yes, but cute. Incredibly cute. Mina smiles and sets her elbow on the counter, resting her chin in her palm. Perhaps Chaeyoung is drawing Mina? No. Why would she? But a girl can dream, right? So for now, Chaeyoung is drawing Mina.

 

Finally, Chaeyoung reaches for her coffee, almost hesitantly. Mina’s more alert now; she wants to see Chaeyoung’s reaction to the coffee meant for adults way older than her. In a sudden change of thought, Mina believes that Chaeyoung will be able to handle it. Mina can imagine Chaeyoung brewing herself instant black coffee at her home, and sipping from it while staring at her phone. It’s an odd thought, an odd belief, but Mina can’t shake it away. She wonders if Chaeyoung will prove her right...or wrong.

 

Chaeyoung slowly raises the cup to her lips, her eyes fixed on her sketchbook. Mina holds in a giggle; the image of Chaeyoung scalding her tongue or perhaps even spilling coffee onto her shirt has popped into her mind. Will that happen? Surely, Chaeyoung isn’t that clumsy. Surely.

 

Mina finds that she’s right on one count and wrong on another.

 

Chaeyoung doesn’t spill the coffee onto her shirt, nor does she scald her tongue.

 

However, she can’t handle the coffee.

 

Mina tries hard to stifle her laughter as Chaeyoung’s face twists upon tasting the coffee. Quickly, the young artist places her cup on the table, her mouth half open in disgust. Her eyebrows are furrowed, and her eyes dart here and there. Mina figures that Chaeyoung was probably told that black coffee was sweet. Of course, that’s terribly, terribly wrong. But it’s still cute, the expression on Chaeyoung’s face. The expression of disgust and surprise.

 

Chaeyoung stares at her cup, like it’s some kind of pest. She nudges it away from her with one finger, and focuses on her sketchbook, glaring at the drawing in front of her. The glare is most likely directed towards the coffee, if Mina thinks about it. She sighs, smiling, and makes her way over to Chaeyoung’s table, grabbing another biscotti while she’s at it. She can pay for this one herself. Chaeyoung seriously needs something to rid the bitter taste from her mouth, and it’s easy to tell.

 

Mina stops at Chaeyoung’s table, waiting until the younger looks up at her. Her mouth is still twisted and her eyebrows _still_ furrowed, which usually would intimidate Mina, but she just thinks it’s adorable. With a smile, she sets down the biscotti on Chaeyoung’s empty plate. “Eat it with the coffee, okay?” she advises, taking on an affectionate tone. She knows she should sound neutral, or at least friendly, but she can’t help it; she just takes a strange liking to Chaeyoung. She doubts she’ll ever be able to talk to Chaeyoung without sounding like she’s in love.

 

Thankfully, Chaeyoung doesn’t notice Mina’s tone of voice. Well, either that, or she decides to ignore it. She picks up the biscotti and gives Mina a look of gratitude, a small smile on her face. (Small, compared to Mina’s huge one. Mina silently scolds herself to tone the smile down.) “Thank you. Oh, wait...” Her face flushes bright red as she realizes why Mina gave her the treat. “Were...were you watching me before?”

 

“I couldn’t help it,” Mina confesses, looking down at the ground. Her own face is flaming, but she has to fight it. With much difficulty, she manages to meet Chaeyoung’s eyes again and smile sheepishly. “Um, there’s not much going on, so...I just happened to see you, and I thought, maybe....maybe I could help you?”

 

Chaeyoung stares at Mina for a good fifteen seconds.

 

Then she bursts into laughter.

 

Mina, of course, is bewildered. Again. What did she do? Did she make some kind of face? Oh, it probably was her nose. She always scrunches up her nose when she’s lost in thought. But she wasn’t thinking about anything! Chaeyoung doesn’t count as anything, right? _Right?_

 

“No, no, it’s not you,” Chaeyoung gasps in between surges of laughter. Mina patiently waits for Chaeyoung’s explanation, standing by while the young woman struggles to calm herself down. Mina has to admit, she really likes Chaeyoung’s laugh. It’s rich and deep, and when it peaks, it isn’t too high either. Plus, it’s accompanied by several claps, something Mina does herself. She could listen to Chaeyoung laugh all day. She wouldn’t mind.

 

Chaeyoung finally calms down, still panting, and shakes her head. “No, it’s just funny...how I was wishing you’d come along with another biscotti for me, and right at that moment, you did!”

 

“Maybe we’re connected,” Mina blurts, immediately shutting up after that. Why can’t she keep her mouth shut? She does it for a whole twenty hours a day, why can’t she do it now? Is there something wrong with her? Perhaps her silence mechanism has gone haywire?

 

Somehow, Chaeyoung reached in and broke it. Mina knows that for sure.

 

Chaeyoung chuckles, looking down at her sketchbook. “Maybe we are. I’m thinking that we’ll probably meet again soon, if not in here.”

 

_I hope we do._ Mina almost says these words as well, before she reminds herself to be quiet. She can’t show any interest in any customer during the workday. And why would she? Mina isn’t like that. She has to keep calm. Chaeyoung is certainly...different, but Mina can’t show that.

 

Even though she already has.

 

“Um, well, just make sure to not eat this all before drinking your coffee, otherwise the coffee won’t be as enjoyable,” Mina stammers, before bowing and rushing to her cashier position. She ignores the smirk thrown at her by Tzuyu, and slumps down behind the counter, entangling her fingers in her hair. God, she’s so stupid when it comes to words. She never can say anything, and anything right, at that. All the wrong words come out at the wrong time. What’s wrong with her?

 

It had started as a completely normal day. Chaeyoung twisted it.

 

Only seconds before Tzuyu nods at Mina. “Your favorite customer,” she mouths, throwing another smirk in Mina’s way. (What is with Tzuyu and smirks? Mina wonders.) As quickly and as gratefully as she can, Mina scrambles to her feet, brushing her hair back in place with her hands, and only manages to catch a glimpse of Chaeyoung as she leaves the café. Mina sighs, and glares at Tzuyu, who raises an eyebrow. “What?” she asks, turning away. “I told you she was here.”

 

Mina sighs again, disappointed at missing Chaeyoung’s departure. She wishes she could have at least bid the young woman goodbye. That would be incredibly suspicious, but Mina doesn’t care. For one day, her shift had been made interesting, and now the very person who made it interesting left without saying anything to Mina. It should hurt, but it really doesn’t. It’s just disappointing.

 

She’s about to sit back down behind the counter before something catches Mina’s eye. A piece of paper, ripped out of a sketchbook, is laid on the counter before her. Mina picks it up, her heart quickening, and it feels like her heart will definitely explode of happiness when she sees what’s on the paper.

 

It’s a sketch of Mina herself. Mina, her elbow resting on the counter, her chin in her palm, her eyes looking straight into the viewer’s. The viewer being Mina. Or, in the original case, Chaeyoung.

 

How does Mina know Chaeyoung drew this?

 

Two things.

 

One: Mina did find it odd when she caught Chaeyoung looking up at her then drawing in her sketchbook. Like Mina was her model.

 

Two: Chaeyoung’s name is scribbled right above the sketch, along with a number.

 

Chaeyoung’s number.

 

There’s a small note next to it, as well.

 

_Payment for the second biscotti._

_Thanks for the advice ^^_

Mina smiles, laughing softly. The extreme happiness inside her is battling with her calm nature. Eventually, Mina knows that her happiness will win out, and she’ll end up jumping up and down in the bathroom, maybe even letting out a quiet scream every now and then, but for now, she can only smile. It’s safe to say that her heart, not to mention her whole soul, has melted because of Son Chaeyoung.

 

Because of how charismatic yet adorable Chaeyoung is...!

 

Mina folds the sketch up and tucks it into her pocket. With still no customers to tend to, she figures she may as well make herself some coffee before she falls asleep. Tzuyu isn’t the best barista when it comes to handling customers, though she’s the complete opposite when it comes to handling drinks. And as for Jihyo reprimanding her? Well...after consulting with Tzuyu, Mina’s sure Jihyo won’t fire her. Just a few words from her favorite barista and Jihyo’s sold.

 

Tzuyu raises both her eyebrows this time, when she sees Mina approaching. “Want something?”

 

Mina nods wordlessly.

 

“Back to the silence, I see,” Tzuyu mutters. “That’s okay, I can be quiet too. We’ll be the quiet duo.”

 

Mina doesn’t give in. She just smiles...silently.

 

Tzuyu huffs. “Okay, okay. What do you want?”

 

“What Chaeyoung got,” Mina murmurs. The annoyed look on Tzuyu’s face gives way to one of warmth paired with a gentle smile. Within seconds (could it be? Did she break Mina’s record?), she hands Mina a cup of black coffee. Mina heads out to a table, grabbing a biscotti on her way.

 

_Third one this time. This amounts to...seven dollars?_

She seats herself in Chaeyoung’s chair. It’s still warm. Mina doesn’t mind.

 

She takes a sip of the bitter coffee, and quickly follows it up with a bite of biscotti.

 

Mina can’t help but start laughing.

 

If only Chaeyoung had done it this way...!

 

She would’ve loved the coffee, then.

**Author's Note:**

> ao3 seriously needs more fluff tbh so here i am, with fluff  
> i hope you enjoyed this!


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